An analytical look at what we’ve learned about the Pacific-12 in the first two months of the season and how the conference race shapes up as league play begins this week:

THE FAVORITE

Arizona. People wondering about whether Arizona really is the third-best team in the nation miss the point. It’s not about what the Wildcats are today. It’s about what they might become in two months. For a team that survived a cross-country road trip to Clemson, a harrowing comeback against Florida and a neutral-court event that required them to defeat San Diego State, the Wildcats sit here with as much unrealized potential as any major team.

Nearly all the team’s power forward and center minutes are being spent on freshmen, with a few reserved for developing sophomore Angelo Chol. Freshmen Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski and Grant Jerrett have varying strengths and weaknesses, but all have considerable room to improve by the time the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournaments are contested. Ashley still has moments where he can be pushed out of a game but also many when his athleticism can’t be contained by opponents. Tarczewski’s strength is a huge asset in the middle of the defense, but he must adjust to quicker players. Jerrett still relies on jumper too often, which is why his shooting percentage is .439.

All this is to say nothing of the improvement possible for Mark Lyons, only two months into a conversion to point guard after a career spent off the ball at Xavier. As a team, Arizona must curb its turnovers, and that starts with Lyons. Kansas became great last season when Tyshawn Taylor cut down the eight- and five-turnover games as he gained experience. That could happen here.

THE CONTENDERS

UCLA. It’s hard to imagine the Bruins being consistent enough over 18 games to win the Pac-12 championship. Then again, no one else in the league has suggested in non-conference play they have the necessary reliability to take a serious run at the Wildcats, but at least the Bruins have the talent.

UCLA is not as deep as when the season began, but that’s only a serious issue if there are injuries. This never will be a great defensive team. KenPom.com ranks the Bruins 128th in defensive efficiency; that number seems almost too kind. UCLA’s ability to challenge is rooted in the ability of its regulars to score at a high level. That will require Shabazz Muhammad to continue developing into a star and the Wear twins to at least approach the level of efficiency they displayed in the big win over Missouri.

Colorado. A lot of the enthusiasm for the Buffaloes dimmed when they lost at Wyoming and were destroyed at Kansas. But they’re still an effective defensive team that generally finds a way to create quality shots for their best offensive players. The top four scorers take 73.3 percent of Colorado’s shots. That’s a team that knows what it wants to do with the ball. As the Buffaloes proved Thursday night -- in taking Arizona into overtime -- the Pac-12 will have a race this season.

Oregon. A lot of the enthusiasm for the Ducks dimmed when they lost on the road at Texas-El Paso. Notice a theme here? The Pac-12 keeps scheduling itself into games no other major league would accept -- and losing them. And then the opinion of the league plummets, and the NCAA Tournament bids either don’t come or come with crummy seeds attached. The most foolish move any league has made was the Pac-12’s decision to withdraw from its Hardwood Series against the Big 12. Without it, the league struggles to get quality non-conference games because of its location. With all its money, Oregon’s featured home games were Vandy in a down year and Nebraska in a rebuilding year. Tough to build a big rep on that, but the Ducks have a deep frontcourt that could help overcome a balky offense during a long conference season.

Cal. After a pre-conference schedule that positioned the Bears to require a tremendous Pac-12 performance, there is every reason to wonder if they’re capable of delivering one. They failed to win consecutive home games against UNLV and Creighton and were flat smoked in a trip to Wisconsin. Still, the coach is Mike Montgomery and guard Allen Crabbe is playing at a star level. They both need more help, and with some nagging injuries it’s been hard to find.

HOPING TO FINISH ABOVE .500

Oregon State. What do you say about a group that loses at home to a Towson team that had to travel cross-country to play and is otherwise winless against major opponents? I mean, this isn’t the Towson that nearly made it through last season without winning, but it’ll be hard to shake that loss off the NCAA Tournament resume unless the Tigers go out and win the CAA title. The Beavers’ offense has improved, but they have been far below acceptable at the defensive end, although the season-ending knee injury to center Angus Brandt has to account for some of that.

Arizona State. Perhaps a program that is totally transforming its approach -- from a controlled defense-first style to a more open attack -- should be permitted a hiccup. But it’s hard to take the Sun Devils seriously when most of their victories were against weak opposition and they managed to get drilled at home by DePaul, the worst team in the Big East. The dynamic force that is point guard Jahii Carson will make ASU a pain for Pac-12 opponents, particularly if the Sun Devils can draw better home crowds than the 5,314 that saw Wednesday night’s league opener against Utah.

Washington State. Anyone else get the feeling that when we get to March the NCAA contenders that didn’t have to visit WSU -- Stanford and Cal -- are going to be glad to have missed it? Pullman is a tough trip, and the Cougars are a tough team to play at the end of it. They haven’t done anything dazzling, but a Gonzaga team many rank with the nation’s best was happy to leave WSU with a two-point win on Dec. 5. This might not be an NCAA Tournament team, but it very well could prevent a few Pac-12 partners from getting a bid.

Stanford. Last season, guards Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright combined to shoot 156-of-357 from 3-point range, or 43.7 percent. Now they’re at 23-of-101, or 22.8 percent. Bright was limited early by an ankle injury. But neither is making shots. The Cardinal are shooting 40.9 percent from the field. No matter how good the defense is, no team can consistently win big games shooting that poorly.

HOPING TO FINISH .500

Washington. Too many guys turned pro too soon, and though the roster has some fair players there’s just not enough athleticism for it all to work.

Utah. It might be unrealistic for the Utes to reach sea level in coach Larry Krystkowiak’s second season, but there has been progress. Loved small forward Jordan Loveridge when we saw him as a high school player -- compared him to Shawn Marion, even -- and he’s already made the inside/out impact we expected.

HOPING TO FINISH

USC. Last year’s implosion was easily explained away by the flood of injuries. And now?